Centegra purchases Crystal Lake medical practice

CRYSTAL LAKE – Centegra Health System continued to build its Centegra Physicians Care unit with the purchase this week of another local medical practice.

The Crystal Lake-based health system acquired Surgical Associates of Fox Valley, boosting its Centegra Physicians Care team to 151 providers at 13 locations.

Surgical Associates of Fox Valley, located at 690 E. Terra Cotta Ave., Suite A, in Crystal Lake, will join the CPC unit Oct. 1. The practice specializes in vascular, bariatric, oncology and robotic surgery. Five surgeons from Surgical Associates of Fox Valley, and an additional surgeon that has yet to be hired, are set to join CPC.

“[Surgical Associates of Fox Valley] are a high quality group, and their values match our values in putting the patient first,” said Jason Sciarro, president and chief operating officer of Centegra Health System. "They have a great reputation for clinical quality and outcomes."

Before Wednesday, Centegra's last medical practice acquisition came in December with the addition of Fox Valley Internal Medicine. Since then, more than 30 physicians have been hired to the CPC unit, Sciarro said. He declined to say how much Centegra has spent on acquisitions for the unit.

“It is pretty rapid and exponential,” he said. “It's large growth.”

Sciarro said the county's aging population and growth and health-care reform are factors that have led to Centegra's expansion. He also said Centegra is looking to acquire more practices and doctors for CPC.

“More eyes are on outcomes and quality than there's ever been, and that's been a positive through health reform.”

Dr. Richard Lind of Surgical Associates of Fox Valley said that the practice's close relationship with Centegra, combined with the changes to the health-care system, made the partnership a good fit.

“As health care is changing, everyone is going to have a different relationship with hospitals,” Lind said. “Physicians are going to be increasingly more and more aligned with a health-care system, so some kind of collaboration made sense.”

The practice will be renamed Centegra Physician Care-Surgical Associates, and people can call the office at 815-455-2752 to schedule future appointments.